1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to air deflectors and methods for reducing air drag on tractor-trailer vehicles caused by oncoming and laterally directed air flows.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aerodynamic drag on heavy trucks is becoming of increasing concern. As a result, numerous devices for reducing the aerodynamic drag on the rear container (usually a cargo container) of the vehicle have been proposed. Currently available devices are specifically designed and installed to perform properly for a particular tractor-trailer. Some fixed devices can be coarsely adjusted by changing bolt/bracket patterns when the vehicle is at rest. If a different trailer is attached to the tractor without an accurate adjustment efficient drag reduction may be affected and in some cases drag may even be increased over that occurring if no drag-reducing device were added. An extreme example is one trailer being higher than the tractor and spaced close to the tractor as opposed to a second trailer which is lower than the tractor or spaced a large distance from it.